Blindsider

Looking to throw one hell of a party and need to book a band? Allow me throw a few numbers at you. How about The Eagles? They're classy. They have that multi-generational appeal. They're also around $1 million a show.

Why not go with something a little more affordable? Bon Jovi will show up for the bargain-basement price of $560,000.

Still too much? Well if you can pry open that dusty wallet and fish out a Franklin, I've got just the band for you: In a recent WYEP charity auction, Pittsburgh's Blindsider went to an unnamed bidder for a cool $100.

"We could've done a lot worse," says guitarist Craig Smith. "There were bands that have been around a lot longer than us who went for less."

Such is the modest attitude of the four individuals who, for the past year or so, have shared a weekend project called Blindsider. Guitarist Dave Pinchot had placed an online classified ad searching for shoegaze-oriented musicians.

"I was pretty specific," says Pinchot. "I figured if they had even heard of Swervedriver, they couldn't be all that bad."

The first to take the bait was Smith, a Connecticut transplant who wanted to get involved in the local music scene. The two cranked out acoustic numbers until their ad attracted bassist Kathryn Heidemann, formerly of Chicago's Rockit Girl, followed by drummer Michele Saunders, who turned up on the band's doorstep just about a year ago.

"Every time another person joined the band we thought, 'Now, this person really knows what they're doing. We should hold on to them,'" jokes Pinchot.

When the search for a singer turned up no promising leads, Heidemann and Smith stepped up to trade off on the mic. With the dual male/female vocals in place, the band's high-energy, riff-heavy sound began to take shape.

Now the band's releasing a self-titled EP, mastered by Herman Pearl at Tuff Sound Recording. It's due to arrive from the press a few hours before Blindsider takes the stage at its release show at the Shadow Lounge, on Fri., Oct. 20.